National standards (2005) on raw material and food (methodology of GM plant identification) and on biosafety (raw material and food, methodology of GM plant identification with application of microarray

Traceability and labelling

Russia has no regulations on co-existence and little on identity preservation or traceability. The import of certain GMOs for food and feed has been permitted. Food products must be labelled if they contain more than 5 percent of an approved GMO. The tolerance threshold for non-approved GMOs is 0.1 percent. The Russian Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumers’ Rights” was amended in December 2004 to require that consumers be informed about the presence of genetically engineered ingredients in food products. However, the threshold was not defined and a debate ensued on whether the level should remain at five percent or be decreased to zero.

On January 24, 2006 Gennadiy G. Onishchenko, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being, clarified through letter #0100/446-0632 that consumer labelling is required for food products containing more than 0.9 percent GMO content.

Although the letter of the Head of the Federal Service does not have the force of a federal law, it provides official instructions to employees (the inspectors) of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being on how to implement the Federal Law on Protection of Consumers Rights.

Liability for economic damages

There is no liability scheme in case of co-existence problems.

Monitoring

General post-market monitoring is mandatory for all approved genetically modified plants to assess long-term risks. Monitoring also occurs to check for compliance with the labelling threshold.